Lea Salonga is a Filipina singer and actress who is widely regarded as one of the greatest musical theater artists of her generation and had become globally popular for providing the singing voice to the characters of Princess Jasmine in the animated musical fantasy film Aladdin (1992) and Mulan in the animated musical historical action-adventure film Mulan (1998).
Born Name
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga
Nick Name
Lei, Tata, Manang, Pride of the Philippines
Sun Sign
Pisces
Born Place
Ermita, Manila, Philippines
Residence
She splits her time between Manila, Philippines, and Los Angeles, California, United States.
Nationality
Education
Lea had graduated, in 1988, from the Operation Brotherhood Montessori Center Incorporated in San Juan, Metro Manila. She had also trained at the extension program at the University of the Philippines‘ College of Music.
Later, she had been enrolled at the Ateneo de Manila University where she was studying biology but had to drop out within a year as her career in the entertainment industry was taking off. Years later, in 2000, while working in New York, she had taken 2 courses (Philosophy and European History) at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts at Fordham University in New York City.
Occupation
Singer, Actress
Family
- Father – Feliciano Genuino Salonga (Former Naval Rear Admiral, Shipping Company Owner) (d. 2016)
- Mother – María Ligaya Alcantara (née Imutan)
- Siblings – Gerard Salonga (Younger Brother) (Orchestral Conductor, Musical Arranger, Music Director), Jeff Salonga (Brother) (Actor)
- Others – Shiela Salonga (Adopted Sister), Feliciano Salonga y Peña (Paternal Grandfather), Florentina Pingul Genuino (Paternal Grandmother), Leocadio Villacosta Imutan (Maternal Grandfather), Carmen Malhabour Alcantara (Maternal Grandmother), (First Cousin, Once Removed) (Actress, Model, Entrepreneur), Divina Francisco (Sister-in-Law) (Violinist). She has a nephew and a niece.
Manager
She is represented by –
- Josh Pultz, Manager & Booking Agent, Amplified Entertainment, New York City, New York, United States
- Michael Gagliardo, Media & PR Agent, 42West, New York City, New York, United States
- Sarah Fuller, PR Agent, True Public Relations, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Robert S. Perlstein, Legal Agent, New York City, New York, United States
Genre
Pop, OPM, Musical Theatre
Instruments
Vocals
Labels
- Atlantic Recording Corporation
- Arista Records
- Capitol Records
- PolyEast Records (formerly EMI Philippines)
- Sony Music Philippines
- Warner Music Group (WMG)
- Walt Disney Records
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 3 in or 160 cm
Weight
56 kg or 123.5 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
Lea has dated –
- Richie Grau (1995-1999)
- Michael K. Lee (2000-2001)
- Robert Charles Chien (2002-Present) – Lea began dating a Chinese-Japanese managing director of an entertainment software company named Robert Charles Chien, in 2002. The couple got married, in Los Angeles, on January 10, 2004, and have a daughter together named Nicole Beverly Chien (b. 2006).
Race / Ethnicity
Asian
She is of Filipino (Kapampangan, Tagalog) descent.
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Petite frame
- Side-parted, neck-length hair
- Affable smile
- Radiant face
Lea Salonga Facts
- She holds the record for being the first Asian woman to win the prestigious Tony Award.
- By signing with Atlantic Recording Corporation in 1993, she had become the first Filipino artist ever to have signed a contract with an international record label.
- In 2011, she was named a ‘Disney Legend’ for her prolific work with The Walt Disney Company.
- She is an avid video game enthusiast.
Featured Image by Lea Salonga / Instagram
Facts of Lea Salonga
- full nameLea Salonga
- Date of Birth February 22, 1971
- Age 53 years 9 months
- Horoscope Pisces
- Lucky Number 6
- Lucky Stone Aquamarine
- Lucky Color Sea Green
- Best Match for Marriage Cancer, Scorpio
- weight56 kg
- height5 ft 3 in